Cousin
by PhantomBrat
Summary: Yugi's American cousin is coming to visit.  What will happen?
1. Chapter 1

Hey Cuz,

What's up? I can't wait to see you again this year. Mom and Dad are going to let me stay there for the school year if Grandpa says it's ok. I hope the you can teach me some great combos in Duel Monsters, so that I can be a better player.

I also want to meet your friends. I can't believe that Joey and Tristan used to pick on you! I have some pranks that I wanna test out on him since Seth gave me the ideas for some really great ones.

Your favorite cousin

P.S. If anyone calls me Jo, they're going to regret it.

Byes.

I had checked my e-mail and found that my cousin from America was coming to visit me. I couldn't wait to see her again. The last time I saw her, she was having problems with a couple of bullies named Seth and Teri. Her parents sent her here to give her a break and to visit Grandpa at the same time. That was a few years ago. I wonder what she's like now. "So whatcha readin' Yug?" I jumped. I turned around and saw Joey standing behind me, "A letter from my cousin from America, who's coming to visit in a couple of weeks." Joey grinned, "I can't wait to meet him. I wanna duel your cousin before he leaves." I didn't have the heart to correct him.

"_Yugi, what is your cousin like?"_

"_Her name is Josephine Maria Muto, but she goes by Mana for some reason. The last time I saw her she was into Power Rangers and going through a phase where she wore tights and skirts together. She hates it when people mess with her family and tends to get a bit overprotective at times. She loves pranks, books, and games. I just hope that she's still got the same personality as she did back then."_

"_People change all the time, Yugi. Some more so than others."_

"_You're right, Yami. Thank you."_

"_You're welcome."_

Three weeks later…

We met at the airport to greet my cousin. Joey still thought that my cousin was a guy, and I didn't have a chance to tell him otherwise. We were waiting near baggage claims for her to arrive. She forgot to send me a recent photo of herself, so I had no clue what she looked like.

Just as Joey sat down on the bench, two hands reached from around the hall and grabbed his shoulders causing him to scream. I jumped up and peeked around the corner to see a girl wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt under a see-through purple one, and sunglasses. She had long black and purple hair which was braided, and purple nail polish. She was leaning against the wall for support as she was laughing so hard. "Man, he sure screams like a girl, Cuz. What's up?" I shook my head, "Still a stealthy as ever, huh, Mana?" She grinned, "Yup. I'm hungry and plane food is disgusting since it's precooked before the flight even leaves the airport, and there's little to no choices."


	2. Chapter 2

I introduced Mana to the others, "Guys, this is my cousin, Josephine Maria Muto. Mana, these are my friends; Joey, Tristan, and Tea." She waved, "Hi, all. I prefer that you call me Mana. Call me 'Jo' and you'll be pranked in return. By the way, Joey, I heard that you used to bully my cousin. I don't like bullies and head to deal with a few of my own back home." Joey looked at Mana, "I don't pick on nobody anymore. When Yug stepped in to keep a so-called hall monitor from beating us up more, I decided enough was enough. I quit picking on others."

Mana smiled at this. "At least you're Yugi's friend now," she paused for a second, "looks like you finally solved the puzzle that Grandpa wanted to sell. He was going to give it to me to see if I could solve it before he tried to sell it, but I'm glad that I lived in America. It would have gotten stolen. Besides, I felt that it should be you who solved it." I looked at my cousin in awe. I knew that she was a rare type of person who could read people like an open book, but to hear her say that made me realize that she probably had other secrets that I didn't know about. "Hey, cuz, can we go get something to eat? I'm really, really hungry from avoiding that horrid plane food," Mana said.

As we went to BurgerWorld, I spoke with Yami, "_So what do you thing of Mana?"_

"_She's different from those we've met. But she's almost like you were, only she's got a bit more confidence in herself."_

"_Yeah, but she tries to avoid violence. Nobody that knows her, knows that she's got a bit of a dark side buried within. I noticed it when a bully pushed me into a mudhole. She lost all reason and jumped on him even though he was twice her size. I still can't believe that she's just a few months younger than me and yet had the courage to jump in to distract the bully."_

"_Sounds like she only wanted to protect you, Yugi."_

"_Yeah, but the bully broke her arm, and Grandpa was a bit upset about this. Mana told him that the bully started it and that she couldn't stand the fact that I was hurt."_

"_How is it that you haven't seen her in years?"_

"_Her Dad, my uncle, moved to America to be closer to my Aunt's parents. I guess Mana missed it here. She was my best friend, almost like a little sister, until she and her parents moved overseas. I was devastated when she left.."  
_

"_I see."_

"Yugi…hey Cuz," Mana said poking me, "aren't ya gonna get something to eat?" I looked at the menu, "I'll have the number 5." Tea paid this time sating that it was her treat. "So what was it like living in America, Mana," Tea asked. Mana shrugged, "Horrible, I had to deal with bullies messing with me because of my hair being different colors. I can't help it if my hair's naturally purple, black, and silver." Joey looked at her, "I only see purple and black there." Mana groaned, "just a minute and you'll see it." She undid her braid and took the scarf off revealing her silver bangs. "No matter what I do, they stay the same." Joey couldn't stop staring at her bangs until Tristan elbowed him, "Dude, it's not polite to stare like that."

After we finished our meal, we went home so that Mana could see Grandpa. "Grandpa, we're back," I announced. Grandpa came out of the stockroom, "Ah, welcome home Yugi. Mana, my how you've changed. Before I forget, something arrived for you, it's upstairs in your old bedroom." Mana gave Grandpa a hug before dashing upstairs. I was curious to see what came for my cousin so I followed her. My friends and I barely reached her room when I heard her scream, we all rushed in to see two other people in there with her. "Um, Mana, is everything ok," I asked. She nodded, "I just thought that Seth and Teri were going to be at camp in America all summer. Turns out that they planned this all along."

"Didn't you use to have problems with a couple of bullies by those names," Tea asked, a bit concerned. The boy stepped forwards, "Yeah, she did. I'm Seth. Teri is my sister. We used to pick on Mana because of her hair and the fact that she was an easy target without family to protect made her that much more vulnerable. We eventually became friends." Mana shot a look at Seth, "You changed for some reason after I wouldn't allow Mark to push you into the pool when you couldn't swim and ended up not only being pushed in, but having to save you from drowning."

Yami spoke to me just then.

"_That sounded a bit familiar to me."_

"_Yeah, same here. It could just be a coincidence though, Yami."_

"_Possibly."_


End file.
